Life, 1916-06-29 · page 7 of 41
Life — June 29, 1916 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon shows five figures carrying flags in a procession, titled "Exchanges Me!" The leftmost four carry identical flags marked with "F" (likely representing a political faction or party), while the rightmost figure carries a different banner reading "Save the Republic." The accompanying poem "I Refuse" by T.L.M. expresses refusal to vote for a candidate named Hughes based on party affiliation alone, regardless of the candidate's personal qualities. The bottom section, "A Sad Spectacle," discusses women's fashion—specifically the controversy over hemlines and skirt lengths, presenting this as a metaphor for larger social concerns. The photograph captioned "Great Americans" appears to show political figures, though specific identities aren't clear from the image alone. The overall theme critiques mindless party loyalty versus independent political judgment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Exchughes Me! REFUSE To vote for Hughes, No matter the hues Of his whiskers; blues, Pinks, greens, grays, browns, Or any other shades or tones That might fuse. My muse Is lame, halt and blind, but-the news of Hughes would not enthuse ny muse like mine If she were nine Or a hundred and nine. I'd choose Almost anyone else but Hughes— Someone addicted to. booze, Who can cuss and abuse— A red-blooded burglar, who could in- fuse Me with respect. But I refuse Absolutely and unqualifiedly and ir- revocably To vote for a pious, respectable, hyphenated, Hand-picked, pussy-footed candidate Like Hughes! T, Le M, A Sad Spectacle of the saddest spectacles ever witnessed by man is the vain at- tempt of woman's boots to conceal the deficiency in woman's skirts. For the past year and a half the unequal con- test has heen going on, with the result, alas! never in doubt. The skirt shrinks faster than the boot can climb, Yet it has been a brave effort Before it comes to hip-boots and a rufile around the waist, we beg some modest modiste to launch a counter fad—say, lace collars that reach to the knees. *buison Heereas, GREAT AMERICANS DUFFEKSON DOOLITTLE, WHO KNOWS BURKE'S PEERACE ALMOST BY HEART comicbooks.com